Ones who Came Before Us: PREDECESSOR
by breakaway-republic
Summary: A Standalone Complex Fic: A cryptic assignment from Aramaki begins to dovetail into a crisis as Major Kusinagi finds herself up against someone who seems all too familiar with Section 9's strengths and weaknesses.
1. Backlash

_Requisite Disclaimer & Author's Note; Ghost in the Shell in it's various incarnations  is the property of Masamune Shirow, Manga, Pioneer Entertainment (at least this latest version) and Production I.G. _

Tuna. After a four unbelievably tedious hours of surveillance, Togusa was able to identify the lingering scent in the air as tuna. Not that he wanted to, and not that a lot of tuna was brought into the port these days, but enough quantities to make it smell. He eyed his jacket for a moment, wondering if he could get the scent out. The former detective figured he might not be able to look at Tekkamaki rolls the same way after today. Part of him was curious whether or not Major Kusanagi and Batou were able to filter out the smell of dead fish that permeated across the darkened waterfront.

            He and the Major had set up shop inside some vacant offices, while Batou was loitering outside as though he was waiting for something. The heavy cyborg was clad in a thick, stained coat and wore a watch-cap on his head, giving him the appearance of a longshoreman. However, Batou seemed to be the only thing outside that was moving in the whole Newport district tonight. Motoko and Togusa were ensconced in a vacant office of an abandoned warehouse, monitoring their hastily set-up surveillance and communication equipment. From all outward appearances, the waterfront was deserted. 

            Motko Kusinagi seemed preoccupied with something else. She was glowering intently at some prominently placed graffiti inside the dormant structure. On the wall behind them was what looked like a smiley-face with a baseball cap. Circling it were the words "_I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes"_. Beneath it, somebody else had scrawled "_or should I…..?"_ . The sound of Batou's voice interrupted her contemplation.

            _"Why did ape-face send us out here?" he groused to Kusinagi over their e-brain connection.  _

            She clearly wasn't enjoying herself any more than Batou and Togusa but was beginning to feel more like she was babysitting the ex-cop and ex-Ranger instead of maintaining surveillance on a suspected criminal. Togusa matter-of-factly mentioned that tonight was his wife's birthday, but left the issue alone after that. 

            "Chief is requesting that we keep an eye on this guy……" a digital file showing a burly, dark-haired Caucasian man abruptly popped up in the periphery of Batou's vision. A Russian national and purported arms-smuggler named Mikhail Omeotov. According to an informant, Omeotov was in the country to meet with parties unknown. And adjacent to the trio of agents from Public Security Section 9 was the object of their scrutiny; a sizeable freighter registered to one of Omeotov's subsidiaries. An array of audio equipment was at Kunisagi and Togusa's disposal but, for the most part, they weren't able to detect their quarry doing anything more interesting than knock back some vodka and light up a cigar. Forty-five minutes had passed since he made a short, terse phone call that they weren't able to trace. 

            _"I know, I know…."_ The cyborg grumbled. "_I was at the same briefing. Is there anything Chief didn't tell us that he told you?"_

            Motoko couldn't help but smirk, wondering exactly how long she should hesitate before giving Batou any of the answer he was looking for. At times she wondered who was more childish; the Tachikomas or Batou.

            "Just that we're supposed to keep our distance, verify his presence and see exactly who he comes into contact with." She replied. 

            "What exactly is Omeotov being investigated for?" Togusa asked out loud. The former detective was expecting a response from the Major citing one of the numerous Cyber-Brain Ethics Laws or Wire Fraud statutes on the book.

            "Multiple violations of the Weapons Trafficking Restriction Act." Kusinagi replied.

            Togusa was a little bewildered. Even though he felt like he was belaboring the obvious, the former policeman felt compelled to point out to the Major that combating arms smuggling and gunrunning wasn't exactly Section 9's stock in trade. However, Batou was quicker and somewhat less diplomatic than Togusa would've been.

            "_What!?_" Batou asked indignantly. _"Why doesn't Foreign Affairs or Section 6 take care of this shit? Why do we have to waste our time?" It wasn't that Batuo minded some overtime or action; it's just that loitering for four hours on end in front of a vacant warehouse dressed as a longshoreman didn't fit his definition of 'action'. _

"That's what he told me after the briefing. Chief didn't say why…." Kusinagi started to say before musing to herself; _just that it was "important"._ She took Aramaki's claim at face value and didn't sense that anything overly suspicious. This may not have been Section 9's specialty but it wasn't really that far above and beyond their duty, either.

            "Maybe somebody's calling in a favor." Togusa ventured. He knew enough that Aramaki wouldn't send them out on some random assignment just for the sake of keeping them busy.

            Their discussion came to an abrupt halt as Motoko and Togusa picked up additional noise on their surveillance equipment. It sounded as though their Russian quarry had company.

            "You're late….." they heard Omeotov gruffly announce to his unidentified visitor.

            There was a momentary pause before Togusa or Kusinagi heard Omeotov ask "_Shto__ Eta?". The Russian's inquiry in his native tongue was followed by two muffled gunshots. Realizing too late that something was amiss, she and Togusa sprang to their feet. Although the weapon was silenced, the Major could still manage to hear two casings fall to floor before a body- presumably Omeotov's- slumped over. _

            "_Major!?__ What's happening?" Batou asked over the e-brain connection. _

            Before he got a reply, Kusinagi stormed out of the office door with her sidearm drawn. Togusa was right on her heels, his antiquated Mateba revolver unholstered and at the ready. 

            "Don't let anyone off that ship!" the Major ordered her two subordinates.

"Right!" the two of them barked in unison.

            Motoko took two steps towards the ship before it occurred to her that she wasn't sure exactly who or what she was looking for herself. The Major's mind was racing. There were probably a few crewmen still on board Omeotov's ship. Even though she figured the compliment of Russian and Ukrainian sailors were somewhat violence-prone, the traditional weapon of choice usually leaned more towards bare knuckles or broken bottles than silenced pistols. Hastily sprinting towards the gangplank, it occurred to Major Kusinagi that Omeotov's assailant could have used diving equipment and scuba gear to approach and flee from the vessel. As she contemplated her next move, Motoko heard footfalls on the deck. She looked up for the source of noise. Instead of a solid shape, all she could make out in the darkness was a translucent shimmering coming from the direction of the footsteps.

            _Shit! Thermo-optic camouflage! She cursed._

            The running figure came to a stop on the deck, now noticing the Agents from Section 9 for the first time.

            "Stay right where you are!" the Major ordered as she pointed her weapon towards the nearly-invisible figure. Kusinagi was at a slight disadvantage, however. Ordinarily, her optics could pick up pressure marks made by anyone in a thermo-optic camouflage suit, but her current position and the steel construction of the deck negated that. No sooner had Motoko said barked out her command than the invisible figure abruptly changed direction and sprung from the port side of the ship, landing perfectly on the wharf.             

            _Looks like somebody wants to show off their cybernetic body._ Kusinagi mused as she executed slightly shorter but no-less-graceful jump from the freighter's gangplank.

            Batou was able to switch on his night-vision optics the second Omeotov's assailant jumped ship. Batou was ready to repeat Motoko's order to the camouflaged assassin when he saw the figure taking aim towards Togusa and himself.

            "_Get down!" he snapped at Togusa. Batou ducked behind an old container while Togusa crouched down, putting the base of a heavy crane between him and their unidentified shooter._

Even though Togusa had no such optical implants of his own, he was able to discern a solitary foot standing in a murky puddle off in the distance where the invisible figure landed. He dropped to one knee and meticulously took aim like an Olympic marksman. The second he did that, something whistled over his head from the direction of the assassin and ricocheted off of the crane next to him. He saw sparks and realized their adversary was still using a silenced weapon.

Seeing the puddle splash slightly, he spotted the elusive figure attempting to flee. The former detective squeezed off two rounds. The first one missed. However, the mysterious figure stumbled and fell, letting out a sharp groan as she hit the ground and struggled to get to her feet. Both Batou and Togusa were now that certain their mysterious figure from the vessel was a woman. At this point she had gotten back up and was starting to run off. Batou could see through his night-vision goggles that she was clutching her right shoulder.

"Lucky shot." Batou quipped to Togusa. 

"You're just jealous." Togusa retorted. They both turned around and saw that the Major had joined them once again.

"Batou; See if you can bring our friend back in one piece. Togusa; you and I will check on Omeotov." Kusinagi ordered.

The big cyborg nodded and sprinted off after Omeotov's assassin. Togusa and the major hastily made their way onto the ship. Dead men tell no tales, and there was the off-chance that Omeotov could still be alive. If he wasn't, Aramaki damn well better give them some sort of explination.

"Major…" Togusa said. He was examining a man in civilian clothing lying on his side in a narrow corridor with much of the back of his head missing. A machine-pistol was still slung around his shoulder. There were no casings on the floor, so it looked as though he never had the chance to use it. However, this wasn't Omeotov- more likely one of his bodyguards. As Motoko was getting ready to proceed deeper into the ship, she and Togusa saw a brilliant flash and a loud explosion in the direction where the big cyborg had taken off in pursuit of the gunwoman.

"Batou…." Motoko heard herself gasp…..

_Author's note: Well- if you've read this far, I hope you're enjoying this fic and will be kind enough to leave a review. I can't express how much I've enjoyed the Standalone Complex TV series so far (if only Bandai/Pioneer would get their shit together and distribute it in __North America__). Some people have said this could very well be the next Evangelion. I'll say right now "no"; this is far and away better than NGE. And it's been renewed for another season (SAC 2nd Gig)…soundtrack by Yoko Kanno and so on. The most glaring flaw would probably be its delay in North American distribution (**HINT HINT, Bandai/Pioneer!**) Anywhoo- it's late and maybe I'm a little too giddy._


	2. Blind Spot

_Disclaimer: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a product of Production I.G. with North American distribution going to Bandai Entertainment and Manga Int'l (I was wrong about Pioneer/Geneon splitting the North American rights with Bandai). Bottom line is that I don't own it._

_OoooO_

_"Batou!__ Batou!"_

The big cyborg was hearing his name over and over in his head as he was still unable to make out shapes and outlines.

"Batou….what happened?" he heard a familiar voice ask followed by footsteps. It was the Major; he could hear her but still wasn't able to make out her outline.

"Well, our mysterious gunman apparently decided to use an incendiary device to cripple my optics and get away." The big cyborg calmly explained. "And since I'm as blind as a bat right now, I'm going to have to say it worked". His optics were beginning to pick up a rough outline of his hand in front of him when he turned to where he last heard the major's voice. He could make out Kusinagi's outline; she was on one knee inspecting something on the ground.

"Magnesium phosphorescent flash-bang grenade…" the major said out loud.

"Where's Togusa?" Batou asked.

"He's securing the crime scene on the ship." She said as she stood up. "So I take it our shooter got away?"

"I'm not sure…your eyes are probably working better than mine." Batou noted. "Maybe you can take a look around, see if you can find him."

Even though Batou couldn't see it, a light smirk was on the corner of the Major's lips.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Batou…." She began to say "But I'm pretty sure our shooter is a woman."

"Hmmph…whatever; I believe in equality of the sexes."

Motoko bit her tongue. It was taking enormous self-restraint on the major's part not to break out into a sing-song _Batou__ got beat up by a girl, Batou got beat up by a girl…_

Almost as if he could sense Kusinagi's train of thought, Batou continued. "Togusa will probably have something to say about it….damn smartass."

"I'm not a Seeing Eye dog, and I'm sure you won't need my help getting back to the warehouse….right?" she queried.

"Yeah yeah…."

"The techs from our section will be here soon to go over the crime scene. I'm sure they can help you with your eyes while they're here."

Motoko continued briefing and subtly dressing down Batou as the two of them made their way back to Ometov's vessel. Even though the big cyborg was beginning to regain some of his sight, Kusinagi thought Batou could benefit from at least following the sound of her voice back to the pier.

_oOO00OOo_

Lastra gingerly opened the door to the apartment. There was a small creak as the door swung open, but it might as well have been a thermonuclear warhead going off as far as the slender young woman was concerned. After what happened on the waterfront, the brunette was understandably nervous.

Her face went pale as she could make out a figure in standing in the hallway leading to the kitchen. It was wearing the body armor, helmet, face-guard and optics of the local police's Rapid Response Team. Slung over his shoulder was a scaled-down SIG 541 assault rifle, also police-issue.

"Hey there, you're back." The ominous figure said in a surprisingly warm and welcoming tone.

"_Sangre__ de Christo!_" she hissed in her native tongue. "You scared the hell out of me! What are you doing in that, Ken?" she admonished him as she brushed a lock of her short hair from her eyes.

"I had to see how these looked on me- I'd draw entirely too much attention to myself in a poorly-fitting uniform. You're not upset that they aren't available in 'his and hers' sizes, are you?" He joked before sensing that something was amiss. "Are you OK?"

Latsra's hand unconsciously made its way to where Togusa's bullet had managed to find a seam in her body armor. "It…it's nothing." She tried to reassure him. The wound certainly wasn't life-threatening- in fact, it hardly slowed her down. But she knew that he'd worry too much.

"It's **_not_** 'nothing', you're bleeding." Hamada said sternly. "What happened? Did the Russian do this?"

"Don't worry; I took care of the Russian." Lastra reassured him. However, news of the latest series of events did little to reassure him. Sustaining a gunshot wound was **_not_** part of his detailed and meticulous planning.

"What happened?" he asked coldly as he loosened the faceguard. She could now see his eyes. Lastra felt like an insect pinned to a board, now frozen in his gaze.

"Like I said, I took care of the Russian, his bodyguards and his database." She said nervously before continuing. "But he was being watched by somebody."

"Police?"

"They looked like Police….I couldn't tell for sure. I ran into some problems with them on the way out and didn't stick around-"

"They didn't follow you here, did they?" he interrupted. She couldn't help but notice that he was now tightly clutching the rifle. Destroying one possible source of information would do them no good if the authorities followed her back to this location.

"No!" she said unconvincingly. It was the truth, she had double-checked and triple-checked, but her nerves were making matters worse; he had this effect on her. Lastra tried collecting herself before continuing. "I used some of the countermeasure techniques you showed me."

She almost seemed to flinch as he moved closer. However, he gently cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. "You mean 'counter-surveillance' dear…" he corrected.

"Of course." She whispered absently.

"That's my girl…" he smiled warmly as his hand slid down under her shoulder. "Now….let's take a look at you."

Lastra let out a small gasp as the Velcro body armor was loudly torn off.

"This might sting a little…." Hamada said as he began helping her out of the skintight thermo-optic camouflage suit. "….but I can think of a few things to take your mind off of the pain".

_oOO00OOo_

In the dead of night, a white Mitsubishi panel van was circling the block in the slow lane. There was little traffic out at this time of night. The driver was a Hispanic male in his late 20s, while his passenger was a distinguished-looking white haired gentleman about 30 years his senior.

The two occupants had their attention focused on a multi-story building. A plaque on the front of the building read _Embejada__ de Republica de Genoma_ with additional script in Kanji and Katakana beneath it. All appeared quiet inside the structure, which didn't suit the van's occupants at all. They continued their slow drive past the South American Embassy, aware of the possibility that they were being watched.

"How much longer, Professor?" the driver asked impatiently.

"Soon…" he reassured the younger man. "Soon enough."

_oOO00OOo_

"Two shots to the head, so I guess we can forget about picking anything up from this guy's braincase." Ishikawa said as he looked down on the Russian's corpse.

A pair of technicians from Section 9 was gingerly putting Omeotov's laptop into a clear plastic bag. The Russian's corpse was already in a plastic bag after photos had been taken of the crime scene.

"The hired help isn't any better off. Even if they weren't, I don't think they could tell us anything new being so low on the food chain." Togusa noted. It looked as though Omeotov has three bodyguards with him and the transparent assassin had taken care of all three. "Isn't this something we can just leave to the locals?"

"Negative." The section chief spoke up as he entered the room. "According to your reports, the assailant used thermo-optic camouflage in the commission of a crime. Either it was from one of the Public Security Sections, or morelikely it was smuggled into the country. Either way, this is something the locals aren't equipped to deal with."

Daisuke's observation was met with an incredulous silence from Ishikawa and Togusa. "Think of it as a chance to earn some overtime." The old man said as Motoko walked in behind him.

"Right…" Ishikawa said rather skeptically as he and Togusa walked past.

"Are you saying this could be an extrajudicial slaying?"

"We can't rule out that possibility, but I think it's something else…."

"Chief?" Motoko asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Aramaki said, even though he already had an idea what she was going to ask.

"Why were we sent down here tonight? You knew something was going to happen."

The old man paused for a moment. "Did I ever tell you about our predecessor, Major?"

On the surface, Section 9's chief appeared to be acting cryptic and evasive once again, but she knew that his question would somehow be relevant to the topic at hand. However, Motoko was wondering exactly how Daisuke would make the transition.

_oOO00OOo_

"You're lucky" Hamada said as he examined the bullet. "This is a hollow point, which means it was supposed to mushroom inside once it struck you and leave an exit wound the size of a teacup."

Lastra nodded, uncertain of whether or not he was exaggerating.

"But…the tip of this round caught enough fibers from your armor to fill in the hollowpoint, which made it more like ball ammunition."

"Oh?"

"So the vest doesn't quite stop the bullet like it's supposed to. Instead it goes in cleanly and at a slower velocity and didn't strike any bone. That made it easier for me to remove, Lucky Girl." Hamada put down the forceps and put the bullet into a small metallic bowl. Lastra promptly picked it up and looked at it.

"Maybe I can wear it as a necklace? You know…instead of a four leaf clover." She pondered as she began applying gauze to her wound. Hamada began swabbing down the forceps and tweezers with rubbing alcohol. As it turned out, the first aid kit was also police-issue.

"Sure, why not?" Hamada mused. As much as he enjoyed the attractive brunette's companionship, he also knew they they'd be quite busy in the upcoming days.

"Your own 9mm rabbit's foot." He said absently.

_OoooO_

_Author's Note: Woo-hoo! **GO RED SOX!** **GO PATRIOTS!** Ok…now that I got that out of my system, thanks to those of you who have taken the time to review and offer constructive criticism and ideas. Since I posted the first chapter, the first two volumes of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is now available here in the __USA__…and worth every penny! For those of you that enjoy the series, I hope you also enjoy the fic._


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